Washington, Sep 30 (IANS) The US Senate worked into the early hours of Saturday to push the sensitive nuclear deal with India into a "lame duck" session after the November Congressional elections, with the Bush administration failing to pursue opposition Democrats to finish the business before the break.

The Senate adjourned at 2.30 a.m. Saturday after a last minute bid by the Republicans to rush through the consideration of the enabling bill that has wide support across the political divide, but lost out to a political tiff between party leaders in the election season.

Democrats, however, agreed to take up the legislation on a priority basis when the Senate returns for a "lame duck" session on Nov 9 - two days after elections to one-third of the 100 chamber seats.

After day long hectic parleys with the opposition, Majority leader Bill Frist sought unanimous consent of the Senate at 2.16 a.m. to proceed immediately with the consideration of the enabling legislation after accepting a manager's amendment by the bill's authors, Republican Richard Lugar and Democrat Joseph Biden.

But Minority leader Harry Reid objected though he fully supported the legislation. Since the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved the bill by a 16-2 majority in June, his party had given a number of amendments with a commitment to complete these expeditiously. But the majority rejected the proposal.

It was not his party's fault that the legislation was initially held up by an arms control legislation proposed by the Senate panel chairman Lugar, he said, declining to rush through the important legislation. But "we can do it in the lame duck session as a priority".

Expressing his disappointment at the Senate being prevented from passing the landmark legislation that would build a new relationship between the world's two largest democracies, Frist said there was really no need to further amend the manager's amendment together worked out by Lugar and Biden, ranking democrat on the foreign relations panel.

His party considered this legislation "very, very high priority" and he was absolutely determined to get it passed as quickly as possible to deliver on President George W. Bush's commitment to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in terms of their July 18 agreement.

Frist said if like members of his own party, Democrats agree to pass the bill without further amendment or debate, it could be sent to conference over the recess to resolve differences with the other chamber over their the legislation.

That way "we could be assured of sending this bill to the president before we adjourn," he said. Bush cannot sign it into law until he gets an identical version of the legislation from both chambers.

The House of Representatives had passed a different version of the enabling bill by an overwhelming 359-68 votes.

But Reid stood his ground. The India-US nuclear deal was important not only for India and the US, but for the whole world and as such deserved all the more attention.

Frist then moved for the adjournment of the Senate until Nov 9 when no business would be conducted except introduction of bills. The chamber would meet again Nov 13 to take up pending business.

The Congress session in November is considered a "lame duck" session as some lawmakers who return for this session will not be in the next Congress that would convene in January 2007. Hence, they are informally called "lame duck" members participating in a "lame duck" session.

The Senate then adjourned at 2.30 a.m. Saturday.

Earlier through the long hard day starting at 9.30 a.m. Friday Bill Frist and Reid tried to work out a "package" on how to debate the bill that was supported by both sides, but had not been taken up by the whole Senate in the face of objections from a few senators from either party.

As the Senate raced through several other bills considered crucial by the White House, Minority leader Harry Reid promised to put the bill on "automatic pilot" so that it may be taken up as "the first order of business" after the break.

The Bush administration has been pushing hard to get the legislation passed with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice making "a rare personal telephone call" to Reid last Monday after her meeting with Indian Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee in New York.

Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran too has had meetings with both Reid and Frist besides other key Congressional leaders and administration officials, including Under Secretary of State Nick Burns, to push the legislation.

The enabling legislation would exempt India from the current-law prohibition on the transfer of nuclear materials and technology to countries that are not signatories to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.